Nanny Nut Ban? Nuts to that Idea!!!!

What next? Don’t the airlines have enough problems? Federal regulators are considering restrictions or an outright ban on peanuts on commercial airlines because some people have severe allergies to peanuts.

Advocates say the move would ease fears and potential harm to the estimated 1.8 million Americans who suffer from a peanut allergy. Peanut farmers and food packagers, however, say it would be overreaching and unfair to their legume.

“The peanut is such a great snack and such an American snack,” said Martin Kanan, chief executive of King Nut, an Ohio company that packages the peanuts served by most U.S. airlines. “What’s next? Is it banning peanuts in ballparks?”

We need to listen to the CEO of King Nut. Doesn’t this move sound rather ‘big brother?’ Surely people know if they are allergic to peanuts. People are allergic to dairy products and wheat products too. Do we ban all sandwiches and anything with milk in it, like cheese and real coffee creamer? How about perfumes and scented products like deodorant? Would travelers be forbidden to BTON? (Bring your own nuts)

Peanuts are a standard snack. People need to be responsible for their own dietary restrictions. If this kind of consumer ‘nannism’ continues, there will be nothing left to consume. So many different things have been proposed to ban that I am losing track: sugar, salt, trans fats, and now peanuts. If peanuts go on airlines, salt is sure to follow.

Some airlines have already banned peanuts. Where does a person even go to voice a complaint?

23 Thoughts to “Nanny Nut Ban? Nuts to that Idea!!!!”

I’ll give another perspective. One of my sisters is allergic to peanuts – enough so that she can go into shock. One day she decided to don gloves and use a recipe that had peanuts in it. She didn’t touch the peanuts but when they started to heat up in the stove, she had to run for her EpiPen. She knows not to frequent steak houses that have a lot of peanut dust on their floors, but I don’t think she’d know to avoid planes and their recirculated air. (I may be dating myself, but the nuts of choice when I flew more frequently were Smokehouse almonds.)

Not to minimize the plight of people with allergies, but I’d also like to ban women’s perfume, particularly the Bath and Body Works products some women absolutely douse themselves in–even worse when their personal hygiene isn’t all that great to begin with. It’s nauseating in closed spaces.

But, seriously, the TSA seems to be taking more and more latitude in what was supposed to be its central mission of protecting the flying public from terrorist acts. I think the agency is a complete joke as long as I am still allowed to bring 18-inch pointed knitting needles aboard a flight, but my nail file has to be left in checked baggage. The water-bottle threat has long passed, but what has become the biggest boon to the bottling industry is still alive and well.

Of course, the government could simply be bowing to pressure from the airline industry to provide nothing at all to passengers in the way of snacks and drinks. Soon up–banning sodas and alcoholic beverages because of the health risks and potential safety liability of allowing passengers to get drunk.

@MH, I 100% agree with you. When you give the govt the power to ban one thing it becomes that much easier to ban something else. I appreciate that people do have a valid medical concern for needing to be away from an allergic source but I think it’s pretty common knowledge that peanuts and planes go together.

I thought only about 1/2 of 1% of the population has peanut allergies. My son has 26 kids in his class and 3 of them have peanut allergy. Seriously? I can’t figure out if that is hyped up or that more than half a percent of the population actually has the allergy.

Agree with all posters offended by fragrance products. I have exactly one fragrance (and I really love it…Chanel #5), but I’ve had the same bottle since 2 Christmas’ ago and I might not use it all up by next Christmas. 🙂

Pretty soon there are going to be riots on the planes. The new passenger strategy is carry on, usually Chinese or other ‘fragrant’ meals purchased in the food court. There’s few security threats as dangerous as a starving traveler, who barely made the interconnection because his first flight was delayed, sitting next to a five course meal eating carnivore who won’t share.

My guess is such a skirmish will occur on an outbound Atlanta flight because they actually have food there, unlike most of the other airports that barely provide anything better than peanuts.

One flying strategy I’ve learned when possible is to link my flights on regional express jets like the Embraer ERJ instead of settling for the typical cattle car. It’s like almost having your own business jet with a 2×1 seating arrangement, instead of enduring the Old West roundup at the gate. Yeah you may make more stops, but in today’s airline reality the actual travel time is about the same. The next time you need to fly, break away from the herd and go free ranging. You still need to pack a lunch tho…

I just came back from Orlando on a JetBlue flight.. Very happy and impressed. Non-union labor, unlimited snacks and drinks, leather seats for everyone and DirectTV on each head rest. All for about 300+100 in federal taxes.

First time I’ve come off a plane feeling like I hadn’t been on a plane. No riots!

Old Vet, on my last trip back from Salt Lake City I was lucky enough to sit next to a Chinese woman who was more than willing to share her fragrant meal – even had plenty of fruit. We ate well all the way to National.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the Peanuts on the airplanes causing riots. With the current administration, we’ll be providing fresh, imported-from-Mexico reefer to our airline passengers. nice and calm. There is the munchies thing, though.

@Rick Bentley Lab testing is so much more sensitive now. Doctors will diagnose a peanut allergy if there is even the slightest evidence of antigen. People are told to keep their children away from peanuts even if they have never exhibited a reaction in the past, on the premise that a major reaction could occur at any time, or not at all.

Ditto on the dislike of perfume in enclosed spaces. I’m not allergic to it, but strongly dislike some scents.

I suspect that some allergies go undiagnosed. A friend of mine is allergic to shrimp and has to be leery of all bisques, seafood combos, etc. I asked her how she came to know about her allergy and she said that she threw up about an hour after eating shrimp a few years ago. She suspected food poisoning. After that happened a few times and she stayed sick for days afterwards, she suspected shrimp and was tested for it. Her sister is allergic to whatever preservative is commonly used in salad bars and to wine. Her allergy caused her throat to close up (hives?) after a meal and she ended up in the emergency room. The docs must have suspected an allergic reaction and she was tested also.

I guess that airlines would rather ban peanuts than have someone go into shock and have to do an emergency landing in the middle of nowhere. I think some passengers would probably freak out and think twice about flying if they were on a flight where that happened. For some reason peanuts appear to be a big problem. My sister reacted to the fumes from them while they were cooking so I guess some people are really very reactive.

My, to what depths have we Americans fallen? Now we are fighting over “peanuts”!!

But, according to what I’ve seen, the naysayers may be correct on this one. It does appear that peanuts, much as I personally love them, do strangely have certain dust or fumes very deadly to some of us. I’ve seen what a simple bee sting can do to Mrs. W. I guess I could give up peanuts on a plane flight so as not to witness that with someone allergic to peanuts. Sigh. I am old enough to remember when you actually got something to eat on a flight — not exactly gourmet; but at least the rumble of your stomach juices didn’t start to imitate the rumble of the aircraft engines..

Peanut allergy is very real. My son-in-law has had to be rushed to hospital; once after having eaten cookies he was told did not contain peanuts and once after eating something cooked with peanut oil.

I does seem strange though. When my kids were in elem. school they ate p/j sandwiches most every day, as did most kids. Never heard of any allergy attacks then. Are immune systems weakening, or are the peanuts changing?

funny, I fly quite often, and very rarely do I get peanuts. I often do note even get the snack anymore. What are the statistics on how many allergic reactions to peanuts there have been on an airplane for the past 5 years?

And look how hard it was to get smoking banned is restaurants – and second hand smoke is known to affect/harm everyone who breathes it in.

The allergies are on the rise because of several theories:
1) diagnosis is getting better
2) eating more processed, and less natural food
3) germaphobes who need to wash with anti-baterial soap at every turn
4) use of medications to prevent illness – getting sick is actually healthy, as it builds the immune system